The Other Side
by Canvas.Falling
Summary: [SCRAPPED] Formally known as Final Fantasy VIII Book One: Hybrid Theory. Eleven years later, this story is getting a face lift. Leo is a new student at Balamb Garden. She had wanted to become a SeeD since she was a small child like her father. Being accepted into Garden was her ultimate dream come true. She is immediately thrust into a world of exams, missions and battles.
1. Yellow Ribbons and Black Graffiti

Chapter One

 **Disclaimer:** After eleven years, this story is getting a facelift and might even get finished! I don't know what made me decide to restart this. It amused me how short and things my chapters were. Those were not even chapters. But now, I am a much more experienced writer. So I am hoping the first three chapters that are posted will be longer and written better. Oh! I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or it's Characters. All I own is the two AU characters Leo and Coda. And now on to the story!

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The sun was showing bright in the sky when I, Leo Wright stepped out of the car in front of Balamb Garden. I had seen the brochure in the welcome packet they had sent me in Deling City, but I hadn't expected it to be quite like this. I couldn't contain my excitement really, and I had been so pleasantly surprised when my parents actually let me go! They had been supportive my whole life but they hadn't expected that I would want more than anything to go to a school like Garden. That I would want to become a SeeD.

I don't even remember when I decided that was what I wanted with my life. I know I was a child when it happened. Now, here I was, about to fulfill my dream. My mother had cried so hard when I left that morning. Her beautiful daughter was leaving to go to school. It's not like I couldn't take care of myself, I was seventeen years old. But I know she would always see me as that little girl opening christmas presents and enjoying the Christmas parade in downtown Deling.

The driver picked up my luggage and began to walk toward the school. I leaned over and grabbed my duffle bag and followed ensuite. The walk between the front gate and the actual front doors of the school was so long. I hadn't really imagined that it would take as long as it did. As I walked I looked around at the students hanging out, talking about getting food and how hard the requirement for SeeD was.

I had already taken the prerequisite for the exam back at my old school. But when it came to SeeD, Balamb was the most famous. So, naturally, this is where I wanted to go. So instead of taking the exam at Galbadia Garden, where I had been before, I transferred to Balamb Garden. When we got through the admission gates, I realized I should get my paperwork out of my bag. As I dug through my bag a tall blond male knocked me flat onto my ass.

"I'm so sorry. That was my fault." I struggled to stand back up. "I wasn't watching where I was going." When I finally managed to stand back up, he was gone.

"Wow, rude much?" I mumbled to myself. When I glanced around I noticed the driver was gone. "Shit." I cursed to myself. It was okay though because I knew my stuff would be taken to my room. I continued walking toward the front doors of the school. When I finally walked in I felt like a completely new person. I had always imagined this place, ever since I read about it but it was so much better than my expectations.

As I walked into the school further a group of kids rushed by and knocked me down yet again. This time everything fell out of my bag as it hit the floor. I sighed and regained my composure on the ground. "Dammit." I cursed to myself again. I watched as the kids kept running. "Someone needs to teach you children manners." Of course I wasn't that mad, after all, they were only children. I got to my knees and moved to pick everything up when footsteps moved toward me.

I looked up and before me was the most beautiful human being I had ever seen in my life. He had brunette hair and icy blue eyes. The necklace around his neck bounced against his chest with each step he took with his heavy boots. His simple white shirt was tucked into his black leather pants. _Dear god, I didn't know you made them like that._ I thought to myself. I wasn't expecting him to stop. But he did. The god, that's the best word to think of for him at the moment, stopped in front of me.

I could hear the music from the white headphones that were over his ears. I couldn't tell what it was, even when he pulled them down and they sat around his neck. "Kids! I'm not going to chase you…" He yelled off after the children who were giggling. Probably because he had already been chasing them. He glanced down at me on the ground, attempting to pick up my stuff.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." I replied as I continued to pick up my stuff. I was surprised but he actually leaned down and started to help me. He handed me various papers and stuff and I stuffed them into my bag. _That was kind of sweet. I wonder who he is._ I thought to myself as I allowed myself to look up at him. My eyes caught the scar across his forehead and I wondered to myself where he had gotten it. It didn't take away from his handsomeness though. Finally everything was back in my bag and I stood up, as did he.

"Thank you so much." I thanked him. Especially after being run over earlier without so much as an apology.

"It's no problem." He said. "Are you new here?" He asked but before I could reply he had glanced behind me, muttered the word "shit" and ran around me after the children. I turned and watched him as he jogged around the directory and off toward another part of the school. I smiled to myself. _Well at least they have plenty to look at here. I wonder if he's a student._ I thought to myself as I shouldered my bag once again. _Okay, let's see if I can actually walk ten feet without getting run over again._ I thought to myself as I glanced around for people who could run into me.

The coast was clear, so I headed from my spot toward the stairs and the directory. I gazed at the map in front of me and ran my finger over the little dot that said. "You are Here-" to the space that said "Dormitory." I heard more running echoing behind me.

"Wow, this school sure is busy." I muttered, but the footsteps stopped behind me and there was a lot of huffing and puffing. The person didn't say anything and I figured it was just another new student gazing at the directory, so I didn't turn around. I just kept looking at the board, trying to familiarize myself with where everything was. Although the school was large, it had a pretty straight forward layout. I didn't think I was going to get lost very easily.

Then, there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to the brunette female that was standing behind me, her face was red from running and she was still breathing heavily. I caught her eyes and she had really pretty emerald eyes. She was shorter than me, but not by much. I figured she was about five feet two inches. I, on the other hand, stood at five feet five inches.

"Excuse me, Are you Leo Wright?" She asked.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Thank gosh I found you!" She said with a happy giggle. "I'm Selphie Tilmitt. I'll be showing you around!" The brunette beamed.

She seemed to have so much energy. I liked her already. She seemed like such a happy person. "Thank you!" I thanked her as I followed where Selphie was walking. It was nice to have a tour, it would be better for me to learn where I was going rather than relying on the directory.

We headed left of the directory and as we passed a hallway she pointed. "Okay. That's the infirmary. That's where you get treated for your wounds. But a lot of students just go there for advice. Dr. Kaodwaki is the sweetest lady you will ever meet in your life." Selphie said as we kept on walking.

"Next, we have the quad. Right now, we're working on the Garden Festival. I'm head of the committee." She stopped and turned to me. "Hey! Do you want to join the committee? It's a great way to make friends fast and it will be really fun! Please?" She begged and I laughed.

"Sure! It sounds like fun!" I said. The bell rang and students poured into the main area.

"Are you hungry? That was the lunch bell! You can sit with me and my friends!" She said with a smile. "Want to?" She asked.

"Sure! Thanks so much Selphie!" I said, at least I wouldn't have to sit alone. As the new person the first few days were already the toughest. But Selphie was such a sweet person. I could see us becoming fast friends with her. She was so friendly, I could only imagine that her friends would be the same.

We turned and started walking toward the cafeteria. It was a little more difficult to get through the throngs of students. But Selphie stopped every once and awhile as she expertly moved through them. At least she was making sure that I was still behind her.

 _Maybe this won't be as bad as I first thought_ I thought to myself as I continued to follow Selphie to the cafeteria.

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 **Ayu's Note:** Here is Chapter One of _The Other Side!_ The first three chapters are going to be rather short because I am basically re-writing them from the old story. But the old chapters were A LOT shorter lol. Hopefully, This will come out better than the older one. I look forward to reviews and follows and what not! Thank you guys for reading. And don't forget to keep up with my other story _All that Glitters!_ Love you all!


	2. No More Words

Chapter Two

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, If I did then it would have gotten remade _**WAY**_ before Final Fantasy VII ever did. (No offense to all the VII lovers, I love it too, but VIII will always be my favorite!)

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I didn't know what I was going to encounter as I followed Selphie from our place in the main area of the school to the cafeteria. If Selphie was as friendly as she was. Then I was sure that her friends would be just as nice. At least that was what I was hoping for. Selphie seemed to think I would get along well with her friends, so they couldn't be all bad. I actually couldn't wait to meet them.

When we got into the cafeteria Selphie directed me around the line to a table in the back, there were already two people sitting there. One was a female, she had long brown hair with dark green streaks. Her green eyes set on me and I felt something weird from her. The male, I suddenly realized it was the guy who had helped me out earlier before taking off after a bunch of kids. He still had his headphones on, but he was bent over a stack of graded papers, as was the female.

"Leo, these are my friends… or well some of them.." Selphie started, "This is Coda. She's a new history instructor here, but I know her from Trabia, even though she use to teach in Timber. She was in my class, so we go way back!" She said.

Coda glanced up from her papers long enough to greet me, and I greeted her back.

"Okay! Who's ready to eat?!"

I heard the voice behind me and I turned, there was a blond guy with a tattoo on the side of his face, he was coming towards us, carrying about four different trays.

"We have… eww.. Ham and pineapple pizza for coda." He made a face and set the pizza in front of her. Coda simply thanked him and picked up the pizza, taking a bite.

"A burger for Squall." He said, handing the tray to the brunette male who took it and glanced over it.

"No cheese?" Squall asked.

"And no pickles. I remembered this time." Zell said back.

Squall nodded and looked back down at his papers and picked up the burger, taking a bite of it. I couldn't stop looking at him. He was without a doubt the most gorgeous human being I had ever seen in my life. I figured there were a lot of people in this school that had a huge crush on him.

"Selphie, I got you a salad." Zell said handing her a tray. "No croutons."

"Wow! Thanks Zell." I watched as Selphie took the tray and set it down before she fussed around in her bag for a minute and grabbed some money. Handing it to Zell who gave her a smile that said 'thank you.'

"And hotdogs for Zell! Thank you Zell."

I fought the urge to laugh when he thanked himself. He picked up a hotdog and stuffed it all the way to his mouth. A moment later he finally seemed to notice me.

"You didn't tell me we would be having company Selph." He said to Selphie with a mouth full of hot dog, I dug around in my bag until I found the chips I had packed before I got on the train. Just in case I had gotten hungry.

"I'm Leo, I'm new." I told him.

"Hi Leo! I'm Zell Dincht." He said shoving yet another hotdog into his mouth. "Welcome to Balamb Garden! I teach the training class, let's see.. Selphie takes care of the Garden Festival. Coda over there, she teaches history. And this bundle of joy here is Squall Leonheart. He teaches math, which we all find hilarious because we had to tutor him through it the first time."

I smiled. "Hi, it's nice to meet you all." I said.

"Yo, Professor, you with us?" Zell waved his hand in front of Squall who swatted it away without even looking up.

"No, I'm with this huge stack of ungraded papers due at three o'clock." He responded back.

"Squall's an asshat. Better get use to it now." Zell said with a small smile as his eyes drifted upward. "Fuck, what is _he_ doing here?"

My gaze followed Zell's and I saw the blond who had knocked me over without so much as an apology. He was walking straight toward us. He stopped in front of the table and Zell was already spouting insults at him.

"The hell are you doing here Seifer?" Zell seethed.

"Can it chicken wuss. I'm here to see my girl." He responded back without a care of Zell's tone.

I glanced around the table. There was only two other girls, other than me. Selphie didn't seem happy to see him either, so it couldn't be her. My eyes drifted to Coda, who had looked up and smiled at him. Seifer came around the table and Coda stood up. I watched as Seifer seated himself and Coda plopped herself in his lap, giving him a light kiss.

"Leo, this is Seifer. My boyfriend." Coda said and he just glanced at me and nodded his head.

"Hi. Nice to see you again." Seifer looked confused. "You ran me over earlier." I added.

Coda punched him in the shoulder. "Did you apologize?" She asked and Seifer simply shrugged. Coda punched him again. "Apologize! Now!" She said and Seifer sighed. Looking towards me.

"Sorry."

"That sucked but you should take what you can get from him." Coda said shrugging as Seifer picked up her pizza and began eating it.

"Hey!" Coda exclaimed, trying to get the pizza from him. "Seifer! Come on! Get your own!" She said as she finally got the slice back and Seifer was simply laughing.

"You're an asshat." Coda said as she moved, well as much as she _could_ move with Seifer holding her, to put her papers up. She seemed to have finished grading them.

Seifer glanced over at Squall and punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, Leonheart. What's up?" He asked. Squall took his headphones off his ears.

"Bite me Almasy." He replied simply, again, without looking up.

"Oh.. someone is spicy today." Seifer replied. "Is he on his man-period?" Seifer asked Coda who punched him for the third time.

"Can you not antagonize him for two seconds?" Coda asked Seifer.

"I haven't _antagonized_ him all day!" Seifer said with a soft laugh. "He avoids me like the plague, remember?"

I suddenly found myself wondering. Why would Squall avoid Seifer? Even though it was clear that they didn't like one another. It seemed that they only put up with one another because of Coda. Coda seemed to be the peacemaker of everyone. _She would make a great friend._ I thought to myself as Seifer whispered something in Coda's ear and she started laughing.

I glanced over Seifer. Then Squall. They both had almost identical scars on their faces. It made me wonder if they gave them to one another. My question, was then answered by Seifer.

"Yep, this is my Christmas present from Leonheart." He said with a tough smile. "I pissed him off just a little." He added.

Coda sighed and moved off of Seifer when he said something lowly to her. He got up and said something along the lines of 'see you later babe' to Coda before he leaned down and pecked her lips. Coda sat down and sighed.

"Sorry, Seifer is...Intense." She said.

"I can tell." I replied.

I glanced over and saw Zell had finished his hotdogs. "Squall.." He started.

"What?" Squall asked as he put another paper in a different pile.

"Are you ever gonna look up from those papers?" Zell asked.

"Are you ever going to stop stuffing your face?" Squall retorted.

"Fuck Squall, I'm glad Rinoa isn't here right now. She would scold you for being so mean." Zell said without even thinking.

My eyes widened a second later, since Squall was up over that table so fast it made my head spin… okay not literally. Squall grabbed Zell by the collar and punched him in the face. Selphie jumped in, trying to get Squall off of Zell but the brunette managed to punch the blond in the face three more times before Coda moved in and pulled Squall off Zell. Zell fell back in his chair and just sat there, nose bleeding and his shirt was rather wrinkled. I glanced back over and Squall had picked up his stuff and simply walked out of the cafeteria.

Selphie sighed and glanced over at me. "I'm sorry you had to see that side of Squall so soon." I glanced at her then back at the door. What had even set him off?

"What did I say?" Zell asked as he took a napkin and started to clean the blood from his face.

"I don't know- How about HER NAME?!" Selphie practically screamed at him. Zell looked around and it seemed to finally click in his head what he had said. "Shit…" He whispered to himself.

"Who's Rinoa?" I asked Selphie. It was a touchy subject, I knew but I was also curious.

"Rinoa Heartilly." Selphie said simply. "She was Squall's fiance. She passed away three months ago." Selphie explained. "She got sick, you know? And well, I guess she just couldn't get better." I could tell that Selphie was sad about it too. They must have been friends.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." I apologized.

"It's alright. You were bound to find out eventually." Zell said. "It was my bad for bringing it up in front of Squall. He's still trying to cope." Zell sighed. "You see Leo, Squall use to be a fun person. When Rinoa passed away. He fell back into himself. Built those damn walls back up, and I think they're stronger now." Zell explained.

"He's still our friend though, so we do what we can." Coda added.

"Even if he pisses us off." Zell ended off.

"Is it safe to approach him?" I asked. " I need to ask him about my assignments. But I can do it later." I said.

"You'll be fine. He's probably okay now, well not okay, but at least not aggressive." Selphie said.

I nodded and gathered my stuff. "Okay. I'll see you guys, it was nice to meet you all!" I said as I moved on the other side of the table and walked as quickly as I could out of the cafeteria. Once, out of there I ran across the main lobby to the elevator and took it to the second floor. I ran all the way to Squall's classroom. The automatic doors slid open to let me in and I spotted him at his desk, headphone-clad, grading papers.

"Ummm.. excuse me." I said and he looked up, pulling his headphones down. "I came to talk to you about my assignments." I said, trying to give him a small smile.

"Huh? Oh! Okay well.. uh... " He moved around his desk, moving various papers and he pulled out a packet and handed it to me. "Statistics isn't hard, were you taking it at your old school?" He asked and I nodded. "Then you shouldn't be too far behind."

I reached out and took the packet from him. "Are you taking the SeeD exam tomorrow?" He asked me.

"Yes." I replied.

"Well if you pass the exam then don't worry about the homework, okay? If you don't pass I'll give you a week to catch up." He said.

"Thank you." I said.

"Your welcome. I'll see you tomorrow." He glanced back down at his papers and pulled his headphones back up before I even had the chance to say goodbye. I turned and left the room. I took the elevator back down to find my dorm room. If only I knew about the surprise waiting there for me…

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 **Ayu's note:** Well, there we are people! Chapter two! Two chapters in one week! I'm proud of myself! I should have Chapter five of _All that Glitters_ up at some point this week too! Which means I am well on my way lol. First of all, I want to say that _Thank You, Zell_ did not belong to me. It came from a story called _Addicted to You_ which I still love even now!


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